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__Morgana__ drank Indian Spice by Harney & Sons

2036 tasting notes

Sipdown no. 207. A sample, and a mystery.

Apparently, I tasted this sample of this a while back but did not write about it under Indian Spice. It also appears no one else on Steepster has ever written about it under Indian Spice, which I find hard to believe, but I did search on several terms and nothing came up.

So I went and created this entry. Then I did yet another internet search and discovered that Steepster refers to the Harney Chai as “previously known as” this. Well crap. I am now guilty of creating a duplicate entry. Sigh.

The Harney Chai is described on their site as similar to this but spicier and with a hint of vanilla. It seems I did taste and write about Harney’s Chai. I described that as not very spicy. So if that is a spicier version of this…

In any case, I decided to drink it without making a chai production out of it, which it appears I did the first time around. Though I can’t be 100 percent sure that what I drank then was Indian Spice rather than Chai and was just smarter about where I put the entry than I was today. Here’s where that note is, just for completeness.

http://steepster.com/teas/harney-and-sons/3260-chai#tasting-notes

Note that to complicate things, the entry is called Chai, but the picture is of Indian Spice.

I wasn’t really sure what to expect here — whether this is in fact the same tea as described in the previous note, but I suspect it is. It’s a pretty mild spiced black tea. Milk and sweetener brings out the spices a bit more. Unfortunately, mine today is still wearing some of the lapsang I made in the Breville yesterday (that’s the other thing about lapsang, it clings on for dear life to tea making implements and so tends to flavor the next thing made with the implement), which I am trying to ignore. Even if this isn’t the same tea, my assessment from the initial note remains the same.

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I got obsessed with tea in 2010 for a while, then other things intruded, then I cycled back to it. I seem to be continuing that in for a while, out for a while cycle. I have a short attention span, but no shortage of tea.

I’m a mom, writer, gamer, lawyer, reader, runner, traveler, and enjoyer of life, literature, art, music, thought and kindness, in no particular order. I write fantasy and science fiction under the name J. J. Roth.

Personal biases: I drink tea without additives. If a tea needs milk or sugar to improve its flavor, its unlikely I’ll rate it high. The exception is chai, which I drink with milk/sugar or substitute. Rooibos and honeybush were my gateway drugs, but as my tastes developed they became less appealing — I still enjoy nicely done blends. I do not mix well with tulsi or yerba mate, and savory teas are more often a miss than a hit with me. I used to hate hibiscus, but I’ve turned that corner. Licorice, not so much.

Since I find others’ rating legends helpful, I added my own. But I don’t really find myself hating most things I try.

I try to rate teas in relation to others of the same type, for example, Earl Greys against other Earl Greys. But if a tea rates very high with me, it’s a stand out against all other teas I’ve tried.

95-100 A once in a lifetime experience; the best there is

90-94 Excellent; first rate; top notch; really terrific; will definitely buy more

80-89 Very good; will likely buy more

70-79 Good; would enjoy again, might buy again

60-69 Okay; wouldn’t pass up if offered, but likely won’t buy again

Below 60 Meh, so-so, iffy, or ick. The lower the number, the closer to ick.

I don’t swap. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I have way more tea than any one person needs and am not lacking for new things to try. Also, I have way too much going on already in daily life and the additional commitment to get packages to people adds to my already high stress level. (Maybe it shouldn’t, but it does.)

That said, I enjoy reading folks’ notes, talking about what I drink, and getting to “know” people virtually here on Steepster so I can get ideas of other things I might want to try if I can ever again justify buying more tea. I also like keeping track of what I drink and what I thought about it.

My current process for tea note generation is described in my note on this tea: https://steepster.com/teas/mariage-freres/6990-the-des-impressionnistes